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1951 Fender Nocaster Blackguard All Original - Pre-Telecaster!

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If you were around in 1951, you could have seen Mickey Mantle play his first game as a Yankee, and hit his first home run, Dennis the Menace made his debut in 16 papers, Catcher in the Rye was published for the first time, and a young Fender instrument company was in it's infancy with a new solid body guitar called the Broadcaster. This revolutionary new design, featuring a solid ash body, two single coil, hand-wired pickups, was actually introduced in 1950, and was the first commercially successful solidbody electric guitar. This modern electric guitar was beginning to gain a foothold in a new market, however, on February 20th, 1951, Fender received a telegram from Gretsch. Gretsch notified Fender that they were in possible copyright infringement upon the trademarked Broadkaster name, which was a line of drums from Gretsch. On February 22nd, Leo Fender had the assembly workers "clip" the Broadcaster name off the Fender decal, thus creating one of the most sought after early Fender instruments - The "NoCaster"!

Yes, you are looking at a 100% all original, unchanged 1951 Fender NoCaster. According to the neck and body dates this gorgeous solid body was assembled by our friend and yours, Tadeo Gomez in June of 1951. Fitting that 60 years later, in the same month, we humbly present a phenomenal version of this verifiable classic.

Folks, it's all here! Weighing in at 7.2 lbs the single Ash body shows wear, however, not as worn as some you may see. Two single coil pickups, that would change the way music sounded now and forever. Whether you are playing Jazz, Country, Rock and Roll, R & B, well anything, this thing can do it. Although the solder work is relatively sloppy (from our inspection report), all, yes all, solder joints are original and undisturbed. Don't let them fool you, most instruments have had something changed from this time period, whether it be solder joints, frets, paint, etc. To have an instrument from this period remain unchanged in 60 years is a small miracle in itself. The two dome-shaped knurled knobs have worn comfortably over the years, allowing for smooth volume increases or decreases without tearing the skin off yer fingers!

Why do they call them "Blackguards", well, there is a beautiful Black phenolic resin pick-guard on the top of these NoCasters which gives them their nickname. Now let's cover a little history, so that you may be more informed on these legendary instruments. If you should find one of these, and could take the guitar apart, here are some important specs you will need to see: Non branded Kluson tuners, an elusive "D" stamp on the neck heel, small nail holes on the upper side of the neck pickup cavity, under the bridge plate and right behind the pickguard screw on the lower horn, protruding side "lip" in the treble side of the neck pocket, with a router "hump" on the lower horn. Also, always look for the pin router holes on the back of the body, filled with a 3/16" birch dowels. At this time in Fender's history, they used slot-head screws, not Phillips head screws! Yup, it's all here, check the pictures. Now for the best part, as far as anyone can tell, they only made 480 of these "NoCasters"!

Mr. Nacho Banos has written the authoritative history of these instruments, in his book "The Blackguard". Here is his poetic vision of these guitars; "this is the first and, to many the most memorable of Leo's creations. It represents the beauty of simplicity. For never has anything been conceived with less complexity, yet turned out to be so wonderfully complete. There is nothing banal or artificial about it. It is the perfect balance of functionality and creative design" - Nacho Banos "The Blackguard"

If you have stood on stage with a Tele, a Nocaster, an Esquire, you may feel the very same way that Mr. Banos, and millions of all of us have felt. There is no finer guitar to handle any, and all of your needs than this one. It's not the loudest, it's not the prettiest, it's not the flashiest, nor the most expensive. Perhaps this is why, so many have chosen this instrument above all others. Your voice is allowed to come through no matter how you speak, or in what language.